As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

A new study in The Condor: Ornithological Applications documents the steep decline of a population of endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatchers over 16 years -- and the change in the sex ratio that has left the birds' future hanging on a dwindling number of males.

Changes in sex ratios can cause problems in small, declining populations, reducing individuals' ability to find mates and reproduce. From 2000 to 2015, Barbara Kus of the U.S. Geological Survey and her colleagues monitored federally endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatchers on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in southern California, collecting data as the population declined from 40 individuals to only five. They found that the number of adult males was stable until 2004, but then began to decrease sharply until females outnumbered males at least two to one from 2012 on.

As the number of males plummeted, more and more of them became polygynous, mating with multiple females. Kus speculates that this may have prevented even faster declines. "It was particularly amazing to watch two or three males manage 10 or so females between them," says Kus. "They seemed to be able to increase their individual efforts such that every female was mated."

Wednesday, 28 December 2016

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — If any further
proof were needed that geopolitical intrigue can stalk the humblest of
Pakistan’s inhabitants, consider the recent cases of two Pakistani birds.

The first is a pigeon, a species
that people all over the country raise on their rooftops as a simple, inexpensive
pleasure and a brief escape from their daily struggles with poverty, corruption
and clogged streets below.

Some weeks ago, tensions were
running especially high between Pakistan and its perennial rival India. The
source was Kashmir, the disputed border region where Muslim protesters were
blinded by pellet guns and Indian soldiers were burned to death in a late-night
attack by insurgents.

Into the fog of belligerent
rhetoric between the nuclear powers wandered a white pigeon, which was
caught and caged by Indian security forces in a border district adjoining
Kashmir.

According to Indian news
agencies, the bird was suspected of having “Pakistani links” and was carrying a
warning message for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The arresting officer
posed with his feathered prisoner, and the image soon circulated on social
media.

The village of Beeley has been
struggling to cope with a huge influx of birdwatchers who have flocked to
Derbyshire in their thousands to see a rare dusky thrush.

The arrival of the bird – more
usually seen in China or Japan in winter - has sparked huge excitement in the
birdwatching community across the UK and abroad.

More than 2,000 people have
visited the village in the past week – around 1,000 last weekend - bringing
business to the area's pubs, cafes and B&Bs, but the volume of people has
caused parking problems.